NORTHWEST COLORADO NEWS FOR SATURDAY, JULY 13TH

Posted onJuly 13, 2013byKRAI|Comments Off on NORTHWEST COLORADO NEWS FOR SATURDAY, JULY 13TH

WILDLIFE OFFICIALS OFFER FIELD TRIP TO LEARN ABOUT BATS

According to wildlife officials, bats are facing significant challenges from human disturbance, a lack of overall knowledge about several of the species and ‘white-nose syndrome’, an often deadly, fungal disease that has led to a significant and worrisome decline in their numbers across the eastern United States. To provide the public with more information about bats, the challenges they face and the latest data compiled by state wildlife researchers, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the Yampa Valley Land Trust and Yampatika will host a presentation and field trip, Friday night at 6, beginning at their Steamboat office, followed by a field trip to the Rehder Ranch near Lake Catamount. White-nose syndrome is a fungus that displays as a white, fuzzy growth around a bat’s ears and nose while they hibernate. The discomfort and irritation associated with the disease wakes bats at a time when they should be dormant. The earliest evidence of WNS was found in a cave in New York in 2006. Since then, over a million bats have died from the disease. Registration for the field trip is required and is limited to 30 participants. Call Morgan Moss with Yampatika at 871-9151 to reserve your spot. The program is recommended for adults.

PUBLIC ENCOURAGED TO ATTEND WILDLIFE ROUNDTABLES

Colorado Parks and Wildlife recently formed the statewide Sportsmen’s Roundtable, a group of appointed and elected delegates charged with representing their constituent’s outdoor-related concerns at bi-annual meetings with CPW officials. As part of their ongoing effort to engage the public in discussions, the northwest region delegates to the roundtable will hold a public caucus meeting July 25th from 5:30 to 7:30 at the Public Library in Eagle. The delegates encourage everyone to attend and offer their suggestions, ideas and concerns during this and future caucus meetings they plan to hold in various parts of northwest Colorado. At the local level, topics that have been brought before the region’s delegates includes changes in the landowner voucher process, mule deer population decline, predators, auction and raffle, gun laws and the ratio of non-resident to resident license distribution. For more information about the Sportsmen’s Roundtable, click here.

DROUGHT DISASTER ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated 14 counties in Colorado as primary natural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by the recent drought. Those counties include Moffat, Routt, and Rio Blanco in Colorado, and Albany, Carbon, and Sweetwater Counties in Wyoming. All counties listed above were designated natural disaster areas July 3rd, making all qualified farm operators in the designated areas eligible for low interest emergency (EM) loans from USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), provided eligibility requirements are met. Farmers in eligible counties have eight months from the date of the declaration to apply for loans to help cover part of their actual losses. FSA will consider each loan application on its own merits, taking into account the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability.

GROUP CLAIMS AMNESTY WOULD BENEFIT COLORADO FINANCIALLY

An analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy says Colorado would gain almost $43 million in tax revenue if undocumented immigrants in the state were allowed to work legally. The institute says undocumented immigrants already are paying more than an estimated $152 million annually in state and local taxes, including sales tax and property taxes as renters or homeowners. Some also pay income taxes. It estimates that if undocumented immigrants could work in Colorado legally, the state would gain $6.6 million more in personal income taxes, $1.4 million in property taxes, and $35 million more in sales and excise taxes. The institute used population estimates from the Pew Hispanic Center, income estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, and its own computer model for its figures.

GARDNER INTRODUCES BILL TO ADDRESS IRS ISSUES

Representative Cory Gardner has introduced legislation aimed at preventing future politicization at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The Preventing Unionization of Revenue Service Employees (PURSE) Act would add the IRS to a list of government agencies whose employees are specifically prohibited from joining unions that enter into collective bargaining agreements with their agencies. That group currently includes employees of the Government Accountability Office, the FBI and CIA, and the Secret Service. Gardner’s bill comes on the heels of allegations that the IRS improperly targeted groups based on their political beliefs. Gardner said he believes the bill is, “an important first step in divorcing the IRS from any politically motivated actions.” The bill has garnered support from groups like Heritage Action and the National Right to Work Committee.